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Saturday, July 19, 2008

People Who Get It

Someone recently handed me an audiobook on CD saying "I think you'll like this story." I was less than enthusiastic as I have never enjoyed listening to audiobooks. My mind just drifts away and I lose track of the storyline. Now that I'm aware of my hearing loss, I was sure it would be just too much "work" to grasp the story without any visual input. Nevertheless, I put it in my CD player and started listening to the story. Within 10 minutes I had given up on the narrator's unsuccessful attempt at a Southern accent and I was returning the CD to my friend.

I have another friend who really gets that I have trouble hearing. Diane always speaks clearly and with the necessary volume. If she wants to tell me something, she gets my attention first. On top of that, she has taken a class on sign language and is willing to practice with me. Needless to say, just seeing her makes my whole day.

I came across this very reassuring passage on p. 119 of a book called Coping With Hearing Loss: Plain Talk for Adults About Losing Your Hearing by Susan V. Rezen and Carl D. Hausman: "I don’t have hearing aids at the present time. How do I tell when I really need them? Different people in different situations will vary in their need for a hearing aid. A retired person who lives alone will have very different needs than a librarian, who constantly deals with people who are speaking softly.” These authors get it. Be grateful for the people in your life who do.

1 comment:

This was a wonderful post. I've been thinking about that a lot lately, since I just got back from two conventions with other people who have hearing loss. Everyone gets it there. I hope someday you get a chance to join a group of people with hearing loss. It's rejuvenating. I have a couple of close hearing friends who 'get it' too. I treasure them.

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